Strong winds knocked out power to thousands of Mainers for much of the day Thursday.
Wind gusts over 40 mph were reported across Maine and New Hampshire Thursday morning, including gusts of 45 mph in Cape Elizabeth and 39 mph at the Portland International Jetport. A wind gust of 119 mph was recorded overnight on Mount Washington, according to the National Weather Service in Gray.
Central Maine Power reported more than 6,100 customers without power at 7 a.m.. That number dropped to 4,300 by 11 a.m and was down to 2,572 at 3:40 p.m. About half of the remaining outages Thursday afternoon were in Oxford County, and about 900 were in York County.
Emera Maine officials also had thousands of outages Thursday morning in Bangor and coastal Hancock county, peaking at more than 5,100 at 7 a.m. Repair crews reduced the number to about 800 outages at 11 a.m. and only 156 shortly before 4 p.m.
The National Weather Service issued a gale warning for coastal waters all along Maine until 10 a.m. Winds were blowing from the west at 25 to 35 knots with gusts to 45 knots. Seas are 7 to 10 feet. Mariners without proper experience are advised to seek safe harbor during gale conditions.
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